Drisham Corps
The Drisham Corps was a military force which existed in Kymurian controlled Anjuin and later the Rum State from 793KF to 934KF. Despite plans to use the highly trained and well-equipped Drisham Troops as the basis of a new army, the last 200 Drisham troops were wiped out at the Battle of Stettis-Vaughn Warehouse. History The Drisham Corps was initially conceived in 793KF when Prince Brezinoff, the royal-appointed governor of the new Kymurian "desert colonies", ordered his Secretary of the Interior to create military and police forces for the State. Soon afterwards, Colonel Montgomery Drisham, a veteran of the Great Eastern War, was commissioned to establish a police force to garrison the City of Rum. He drew up plans for a 8,000 man "city watch" to replace the various mercenary companies that Rum merchants had paid to oversee their trading security. Many young men, particularly Xhosi immigrants, joined up, and thanks to Col. Drisham's excellent training, became a powerful force in Rum. Soon after, the Kymurians began sending expensive regular units home, and the "Rum Watch" was expanded into the "I Native Corps." They were equipped with new weapons and equipment, and given their distinctive tan-green uniforms. Before long, the unit numbered 200,000 men, and policed the entire eastern coast. Every man in the corps A few months later he was promoted to "Commandant of the Drisham Corps". A number of other Kymurian officers and non-commissioned officers were also dispatched to the territory as the nucleus of the officer corps. The officers of the Drisham Corps were entirely white-mainlanders. They comprised a mixture of Kymurian regular soldiers and mercenaries from other countries who were drawn by the prospect of wealth or simply attracted to the adventure of service in Anjuin. Serving under these officers was an ethnically-mixed Anjuin soldiery, who were recruited or conscripted from warrior tribes in the Western and Desert regions, others were black mercenaries drawn from Azram. The role required of the Drisham Corps was that of both defending Colonial territory and of internal pacification. Over time, Kymurian commanders realised that it was more advantageous to fill the ranks primarily with black Xhosi troops, since they did not share any cultural ties with the Azer peoples, and were often more sympathetic to the Kymurians due to their given elevated status and shared Angelican Religion. War of Thirst By the time of the War of Thirst, The Drisham Corps had become the primary and most powerful force on Azer, however, it was quickly realised that the majority-Xhosi army, who were used to either the cool and fruitful eastern isles, or the sheltered bays of Rum city, would not fare well in the brutal climates of the Azer Desert. For this reason, only a few thousand ethnically-Azerish Drishams were deployed. They saw immensely heavy action but, like the rest of the Kymurian forces, were ultimately forced to withdraw. The fiercely-loyal Drisham troops then became the primary military force of Baron Wrettins despotic Rum State. In return for vast rewards and appeasements, such as the appointment of native Boniface Tshambo to Grand Marshal, they suppressed all insurgency, and fought a 28-year long bush war against Aya Kalahni, who eventually captured Rum and advanced on the last 200 Drisham Troops. Tshambo and his men fought for three blood-soaked hours while Wrettin sailed out to meet Kymurian Diplomats, but it was too late. With five men left alive, Tshambo led a charge and was gunned down with the other survivors, while Wrettin committed suicide upon learning of the defeat. Marshal Bownagree's Corps A "Corps" of Drisham Infantry under (then) Colonel Thomas Vishnam-Bownagree refused to fight under either Baron Wrettin's state or as mercenaries under the command of Boniface Tshambo. Instead, they travelled to Kymuria, where they fought on the Conservative side of the Constitution War, notable for their brutally effective performance at Foxhead Wood.